X-radiograph(s) of "Reverend Nathaniel Appleton" 

Curator: We're looking at an X-radiograph of John Singleton Copley's "Reverend Nathaniel Appleton," held here at the Harvard Art Museums. The film size is 14 x 17. Editor: Striking. The stark reversal of light and shadow gives it an almost ghostly quality, doesn’t it? It's like peering beneath the surface, beyond the veneer of the painted image. Curator: Precisely. The X-ray reveals the underlayers, the structural composition Copley employed to build the portrait. We can see the density and distribution of the paint. Editor: It really highlights the materiality, doesn't it? You see the lead white, the way it's been built up in certain areas to create form. It pulls back the curtain on the artist’s process. The hand at work. Curator: Indeed. And in a way, it abstracts the portrait, focusing attention on the formal elements rather than the mimetic representation. It’s a study of form and light. Editor: It certainly gives one a new perspective. I feel like I understand the painting and the artist's labor so much better now. Curator: It encourages a deeper engagement with the artwork, moving beyond the surface to appreciate its underlying structure.